Journal: medRxiv
Article Title: Pharmacological enhancement of glymphatic function in humans increases the clearance of Alzheimer’s disease-related proteins
doi: 10.64898/2026.03.10.26348048
Figure Lengend Snippet: The Dexmedetomidine Trial was conducted at Stanford University’s Clinical and Translational Research Unit (CTRU), while the ACX-02 Clinical Trial was conducted at both Stanford University’s CTRU and Washington State University’s Sleep and Performance Research Center. Both trials used a cross-over design - treatment followed by placebo - to assess the effect of DEX on the glymphatic clearance of Aβ and tau from the brain to the blood. (A) The Dexmedetomidine Trial enrolled nine participants, of whom eight completed both study visits. (B) The ACX-02 Trial enrolled 22 participants, eight at Stanford University and 14 at Washington State University. Of the eight participants at Stanford, six completed both study visits. At Washington State University, 11 of 14 participants completed both study visits. (C) Illustration of the determinants of glymphatic clearance of Aβ and tau during wake, NREM sleep, DEX and ACX-02 treatment. To capture these physiological determinants, participants were instrumented with ECG telemetry, percutaneous oxygen saturation (SpO₂), nasal cannula for low-flow oxygen and continuous end-tidal CO₂ (EtCO₂) monitoring, and a radial arterial line for continuous blood pressure monitoring and blood sampling (Philips IntelliVue MP50). An intravenous line was placed for drug or saline placebo infusion. Participants were also fitted with an investigational in-ear wearable device from Applied Cognition¹⁷ that measured key determinants of glymphatic function, including sleep features (hypnogram and spectral band power) by EEG, heart rate variability (HRV) by photoplethysmography (PPG), cerebrovascular pulse transit time (PTT cereb ) by impedance plethysmography (IPG), and brain parenchymal resistance (R P ) by dynamic electrical impedance spectroscopy.
Article Snippet: Participants were instrumented for monitoring by electrocardiography (ECG) telemetry, percutaneous oxygen saturation (SpO 2 ), nasal canula for administration of supplemental oxygen at 2 liters per minute (LPM) and continuous end-tidal CO 2 (EtCO 2 ) monitoring, and a 20 gauge (g) radial arterial catheter at the wrist for continuous systemic blood pressure measurement and blood sampling (Philips IntelliVue MP50 Patient Monitor).
Techniques: Clinical Proteomics, Sampling, Saline, Impedance Spectroscopy